Excavating machine



EXCAVATING MACHINE Filed March 10. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR April 24, 1928. 1,667,381

0. HETLESATER EXGAVATING MACHINE Filed March 10. 1926 s Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Patented Apr. 24, 1928.

UNlTED STATES OLAF HETLESATER, F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON; ELISABETH HE'ILESATER 1x30111331! 1,667,381 PATENT OFFICE.

- OF-SAID OLA! HETLESATER, DECEASED.-

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Application filed March 10, 1926. Serial No. 93,754.

My invention relates to excavators for road building and irrigation ditches in which a single excavating bucket operates in conjunction with side pockets located on and part of the excavator for digging and transporting the excavated material to the dump; and my objects are, first, to eliminate teams or trucks for transporting the excavated material; second, to provide a light, easily propelled machine, and, third, powerful enough to dig ordinary material without previous plowing.

These objects, and others which will appear later, I attain by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the ma chine with one side pocket and one set of rear wheels removed; Fig. 2, a partial plan view; Fig. 3, a partial vertical section on broken line 3-3; Fig. 4, a vertical section of gear housing and supports on broken line 4-4; Fig. 5, a horizontal section on broken line 55 of gear housing and support; Fig. 6, a. plan view of suspension links; Fig. 7, a partial side view of gear housing and dipper handle with lip adjusting rod in its dumping position, showing crank and suspension arm with shock spring housing; Fig. 8, View of suspension arm and pin for lip adjusting rod; Fig. 9, plan sectional view 'of swinglng crank and anchors on broken line 9-9; Fig. 10, developed surface of worm for actuating the swinging crank. Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several 85 views.

To. a tractor 1, is secured a frame 2, 2 and 2 preferably built in sections with a column 3, and a tie rod 4; a top frame 5, is secured to top of frame 2, supporting a hopper support 6, with a bearing 7. To frame 2 with cap 8 is formed a step bearing 8 for worm housing 9, which at its upper end is provided with trunnion 9 rotatively held by a cap 10, forming a bearing in said frame 2 in which said worm housing is free to revolve. To said worm housing is bolted two trunnions, 11 and 11 which supports an upper gear housing 12, provided with trunnion bearings 13 and 13 59 and caps 14, forming a pivot for said gear housin which on top has two suspension lugs 15, an 15 a pin 16 and U straps 17 and 18, which with spring bolt 19 and spring 20 forms the spring suspension link. A pin 21 secures said U strap 18 to suspension nut 22, which is adjusted and su ported by screw 23, upper end of which is li eld by said bearlng 7 and lower end by a step bearing 24, formed in said top frame 5. To the low-- or end of said screw 23 is keyed a worm wheel 25, engaging with a worm 26, which is keyed to shaft 27, turning in bearings 28 and 28, formed in said top frame 5; a hand wheel 29 is keyed to the outer end of sald shaft 27, by which said suspension nut 22 is ad usted in a vertical plane. Integral with said upper gear housing 12 and with bearings 13 and 13 is cast bearings 3030 and 30 and also bearing 31; said bearings, 30 and 31, are provided with caps 32 and 33 respectively. Said bearings 30, 30 and 30 forms the supports for crank shaft 34, to which 1s keyed cranks 35 and 35-, having at their outer end crank pins 36 and 36 Motion is taken from tractor worm shaft 37 by slip coupling 38, operated by hand lever 39 and keyed to shaft 40, to the outer end of which is keyed a bevel gear 41, supported in ball bearing 42 and engaging with bevel gear 43, keyed to a worm 44 and guided by ball bearing 45. The upper end of said worm is provided with a double thrust bearmg 46; through nut 47 collar 48, follower 49, thrust is transmitted to said frame 2 and said worm housing 9, in which said thrust bearing 46 is held. The lower end of said worm housing 9 transmits thrust to said frame 2, and forms the housing for said ball bearing 45. The upper end of said worm 44 is held in ball bearing 50, formed in said frame 2 A fly wheel 51 is ke ed to the upper end of said worm 44. shaft 52 having concentric bearings in said trunnions 11 and 11 has a worm wheel 53 keyed between said bearings and an elliptic gear 54 keyed at one end'. Said worm wheel 53 meshes with said worm 44. Meshing with said elliptic gear 54 and keyed to said shaft 34 is another elliptic gear 54 which transmits a variable speed to said shaft 34 and to said crank pins 36 and 36 centrally on said crank shaft 34 is keyed a worm 55, the developed thread 55 shown in Fig. 10 is formed with a straight interval 55, thus transmitting an interrupted motion to worm wheel 56, which is keyed to swinging shaft 57, upper end of which is held in said bearing 31; the lower end is supported by bearing 58 formed in lower gear housing 59, and has keyed on a swinging crank 60, provided with an eye bolt 61 at its outer end. Two anchor rods 62 and 62, link in said eye bolt 61 and is provided at their outer ends with two spring washers 63 63 and two nuts 64, and 64 respectively. Two anchor springs 65 and 65 transmit the ull from said anchor rods 62 and 62 to eye olts 66 and 06 in holes 67 provided in swinging anchor frame 68, in which they are free to turn. Said anchor frame is bdlted to said frame 2 Said lower gear housing 59 is cast partky open in the bottom and at one end to a 0rd clearance for swinging and lowering. Integral with it is'cast bearing caps 69 and 69 and also two lugs 70 and 70 from which a forward support 71 is suspended by pin. 72. The said upper gear housing 12 is at the top inner end provided with two shoulder lugs 73 and 73 from which through pins 74 and 74 suspension arms 75 are hung, the lower end of which by pins 76 connects with handle 77 and 77 At a suitable intermediate position on said suspension arm 75 is located a pin 78 for connection with lip adjusting rods 79 and 79 Said suspension arm is preferably made double with a space between for clearance for said handles 77 and 77 a slidin block 80 is arranged to work in a slot 80 in said handle 77 together with shock springs 81 and is also arranged to reeeive said crank pins 36 and 36 Said handle 77 is cast hollow to receive dipper handles proper 82 and 82 which are secured to same. At the outer ends of said dipper handles and secured to same are dipper pivots 83 and 83 from which through pin 84 dipper 85 is suspended, at the lower and outer'end of which the dipper lip 86 is articulately attached through pin 87, said dipper lip 86 being provided with teeth 88, and at the upper ends with pins 89 and 89 connecting with lip adjusting rods 79 and 79 at the lower end and on the sides of said dipper 85 is fastened lugs 90 which through pins 91 attaches to spring rods 92. These rods through suitable apertures in said dipper pivots 83 and 83 engages with cushion springs 93 and 93 To said hopper support 6 is secured a hopper 94, provided with side chutes 95 and 95 and with back stop 96 and also braces 97- and 97 Machine is supported on dead axle 98 clamped to said frame 2 by clamps 99 and 99 and provided with trunnions on the outer ends, on which wheels 100 turn, to the rims of which another pair of wheels 101 are bolted; said wheels centered and secured on axles 102, on which is supported a side pocket 103 by supports 104 and between said supports and on said axle 102 is located wheel 106. At the rear end of said side pocket 103 and supported by said supports 104 and 105 is axle 107; between sai supports and on said axle is located counter balance wheel 108. On one side of side pockct103 in a convenient location is riveted stop angle 109, arranged to engage sto 110. which is keyed to'shaft 111, supported in bearings 112, which are secured to said hopper support 6. Said shaft 111 is r0- vided. with a hand lever 113, located in a convenient position.

To said wheels 100 is secured a gear.114 and a sprocket 115, arranged to mesh with pinion 116 and through a sprocket chain 117 with sprocket 118, which respectively are provided with friction clutch members 119 and 119 arranged to be selectively driven by another clutch member 120, keyed to original drive axle of tractor and operated by clutch lever 121, conveniently pivoted on said frame 2.

The operation of my machine is as follows: I

Through one revolution of the cranks 36 d(Z-d in direction of the arrows; due to the inner end of handles 82 and 82 being attached to and guided by the suspension arms 75 and 75 which will swing in an arch from shoulder lugs 73 and 7 3 The elliptic gear 54 is keyed on the shaft 34 in such relation to cranks 36 and 36 that the slow motion of the dipper will occur at the lower part of path ddd, Where great power is required, and the fast motion at the upper part of path dold, where great speed is desirable, to throw the material into the hopper. By the adjusting rods 77 the dipper lip is at the lower part of the path adjusted in regard to the bank so as to procure a better digging angle than if the dipper lip were rigidly connected to the dipper, and at the upper end of the path the lip opens up and frees the material at the time of delivery. Due to the speed of the dipper at the top of path, it is reluctant to stop immediately, which also would produce great shock and strain on the parts. To absorb this stored up energy, dipper and its lead is allowed to rise and swing around pivot pin 84 at its upper end and is gradually retarded in this motion by cushion springs 93 and 93 It thus follows path e-e--e and springs 93 and 93 are adjusted to just give it a slight shock at the top to release clay or sticky material more easily. Due to the relative position of the cranks 36 and suspension arms 75, at the time dipper should start on its down path shock springs 81 and sliding block 80 will allow cranks to continue their motion by compressing the spring 81, which limits the force exerted on the dipper tending to increase its acceleration over that produced by gravity, until such time and position in the return path of the dipper when speed has been reduced to conform with the speed gravity naturally would give to the falling bucket. The spring 81 will then reand 36 the dipper 85 is moved on path turn block 80 to its normal position, and the gradually retarded motion of the dipper. will absorb the momentum of the fall. To regulate the speed of the machine and augment the form available while dipper is forced through the bank, a fly wheel is arran ed at the top of worm 44 as shown.

e swinging of the dipper and gear housing is accomplished by worm 55, wheel 56 and crank 60, so that for one revolution of worm dipper will have swung only an amount equal to its width and the total number of side swings to be able to dig a swath wide enough to afi'o'rd passage off the machine in the bottom of the out. Alternately the material dug will be thrown alon projectory t--t or 9-29 according to spec into each side pocket; the center loads will be dumped in center of hopper where the first few dipper loads will remain, forming a cushion and a slope for the following center loads. \Vhen both side pockets are filled, machine is stopped by throwing out clutch 38 after previous slowing down of the tractor engine, leaving the dip or and handle in top position. Machine is ed into the bank by hand lever at the judgement of the operator. The sliding back of the machine when dipper is forced into the bank is prevented by suitable. blocks back of the rear wheels. The side pockets when loaded has an over balancin effect forward from the axis of rear whee s and the stop 109 on the side is located so that, in hard surface, Wheels 108 will be a couple inches off from the ground, but will in soft ground carry a small part of the load in proportion to their surface and depth of sinking in. Machine is now ropelled to the dump until the forward w eels of the tractor is on the edge of the dump. Side pockets are now released by hand lever 113 and swings forward and down to position D, and material slides onto and over the edge of the dump, wheels 108 being lifted up as shown in dotted lines. When all material is out, the weight of the wheels 108 will overbalance the empty side pocket and it will return to its former position with wheels 108 on the ground and stop 109 is returned to its locking position and locked by the hand lever 113. Machine is now propelled back to the digging place.

Although I have shown the machine as it would preferably be constructed for road building, it can be arranged for excavating .irrigation ditches by substituting belt conveyors on each side for overcasting the excavated material to both sides beyond the berme, and the machine proper would be as shown. The drive for these conveyors could be taken from the pulley on the side of the tractor, or, if greater capacity was desired, from an independent motor located on the frame work of the conveyor, which would be supported on the rear wheel axles in a similar manner as the side pockets. are shown. I thus do not limit myself to the precise arrangement shown, but any other arra gement, without materially changing the machine, within the scope of my invention, can be used.

I am aware that prior to my invention excavating machines, such as scrapers, have been in use diggin the material and transporting it pro elle by horses or tractors to the dump. T erefore I do not claim such a combination broadly, but

What I do claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of an excavator, a tractor, two side pockets rotatively supported on axles having a common center with rear axle-of said tractor, a pair of wheels on each of said axles, a supplementary axle on each of said side pockets, a locking device on said tractor, and a balancing wheel on each of said supplementary axles.

2. The combination of an excavator, and a tractor, having two side pockets rotatively supported on axles and wheels, a supplementary axle with balancing wheel on one end of each of said side pockets, other end to be open for dumping, and a locking and unlocking device for said side pockets lo- 1ciatled on said tractor substantially as speci- 3. An excavator having a bucket with a hinge connection at the upper end and a spring connection at the lower end, a handle, hinge connected to said bucket, a spring anchored to said handle, means for imparting motion and direction to said bucket and sald handle, the velocity and direction of said bucket and handle being such, as to discharge the bucket contents by energy stored therein, said spring absorbmg the energy stored in said bucket, by allowing it to revolve about said hinge, thereby compressing said spring.

4. An excavator, having a bucket, a handle connected to sald bucket in one end, other end being pin connected to an arm, an intermediate crank pin connection on'said handle, means for impartin motion to said handle through said cra pin connection, and means for anchoring u per end of said arm.

5. In an excavator, he combination of a bucket, a handle connected to said bucket in one end, other end being pin connected to an arm, a sliding block intermediately housed on said handle, adapted to receive a crank pin, a spring housed back of said sliding block on said handle, arranged to allow said sliding block to compress said spring when motion of said crank pin so demands, means for imparting motion to said crank pin, and means for rotatively anchoring upper end of said arm.

6. In an excavator, the combination of a bucket, a hinged lip on said bucket, a handle connected to said bucket, a lip adjusting rod connected to said hinged lip, an arm, one end of said arm being pin connected to said handle, other end being rotatively anchored, sald arm having an intermediate pm connection to said lip adjusting rod, and means for imparting mot-ion to said handle.

7. In an excavator, the combinatlon of a bucket with I a link suspended and crank actuated handle, a crank actuating said handle, a crank shaft keyed to said crank, a lay shaft, a pair of elliptic gears, wlth equal number of teeth, keyedrespectively to the said lay shaft and crank shaft, and meshin together, the uniformly revolving lay sha t thereby imparting a variable motion to the crank shaft, a worm Wheel keyed to said la shaft, means for supporting said crank sha and lay shaft and means to transmit motion to said worm wheel.

8. In an excavator, the combination of a bucket, a link suspended and crank operated handle, a crank actuating said handle, a crank actuating mechanism, a lay shaft, a Worm wheel keyed to said lay shaft, a housing for said worm wheel having a pair of trunnions in a vertical plane, and another pair of trunnions in a horizontal plane, forming bearings for said lay shaft, a frame rotatively supported on said horizontal trunnions and forming housing and support for said crank actuating mechanism, a worm shaft concentric with said vertical trunnions, meshing with said worm wheel, means for imparting motion to said worm shaft, means for suspending said frame, and bearings for supporting said vertical trunnions of said worm gear housing rotatively substantially as described.

9. In an excavator the combination of a bucket, a link suspended crank actuated handle, a crank actuatin mechanism, a housing supporting said han 1e and forming a housing for said crank actuating mechanism, a worm gear housing rotatively supportin said housing, allowing motion in a vertica plane, a frame rotatively supporting said worm gear housing, allowing motion in a horizontal plane, an elastic pin connected suspension link suspending said housing, a vertically adjustable suspension nut, in connected t0 upper end of said suspenslon link, a forward support suspended from forward end of said housing, acting in conjunction with said suspension link, and means for raising and lowering said suspension nut substantially as specified.

10. In an excavator, the combination of a bucket, a link suspended crank actuated handle, a crank shaft, a housing supporting said crank shaft, a worm wheel housing supporting said housing, a body frame forming trunnion bearings for said worm wheel housin a worm with a partially interrupted lead, keyed onto said crank shaft, a worm wheel meshing with said worm, a swinging shaft, keyed to said worm wheel and held in bearings in said housing, a swinging crank keyed to the lower end of said swinging shaft, a swinging anchor frame with two anchor arms and secured to said body frame, two anchor rods, two springs, connections for said anchor rods to said swinging crank and to said anchor frame, and means for imparting motion to said crank shaft substantially as specified.

OLAF HETLESATER. 

